Wailin' Walter & The Blues Screamers independently produced recording, "SHIMMY, SHAKE, STOMP, SHOUT!!!," offers some blues from a young man attempting to make his way into the tough Chicago blues scene. The recording offers a variety of songs including a John Lee Hooker style boogie on "Ghost Train Runnin';" a jazz feeling on "Letcho Hair Down, Baby;" and straight Chicago blues on a cover of Muddy Water's "Rock Me Baby."
This is a CD that grows more appealing with each play. Walter has an interesting voice that did not appeal to me at first, but became more complimentary with the music as I continued to listen. While I had to get used to the vocals, I was attracted to Walter's guitar attack right away. I found the guitar work especially appealing on "Ghost Train Runnin'" which is a boogie number that is reminiscent of several rock/boogie bands from the 1980's. "Cup of the Blues" is a slower blues number that also offers some nice extended guitar by Wailin' Walter. On "I Have Changed" the band shifts gears and offers a heavier horn-based sound to the music with a nice tenor sax solo by "Skinny " William Sims.
The only cover listed on the CD is Muddy Water's, "Rock Me Baby." However, "I Wanna Hug Ya," sounds very similar to the John Lee Hooker song, "I Want To Hug You." Both songs are well done and, in fact, "Rock Me Baby" is offered in an entertaining up tempo format that includes another nice guitar solo by Walter.
Overall the CD is pretty straight forward blues, with an occasional bit of rock undercurrent (ala Michael Hill's Blues Mob). Wailin' Walter & The Blues Screamers seem to be off to a decent start and, hopefully, will be able to make their way to the next level with the assistance of this CD. If you are interested in your own copy of "SHIMMY, SHAKE, STOMP, SHOUT!!!," contact the band at (773) 972-9570 or via e-mail at Damnyalljamn@hotmail.com
This review is copyright © 1999 by Dave "Doc" Piltz, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
